Max
was afraid at first, cautious of the strange surroundings and worried that
despite Syd's protestations the others around them were judging his casual
garb. He was out of his depth with food like this, in a place like this, and he
was very much afraid that it showed in his hesitations and reactions to the
unusual dishes.

Finally,
dessert was served, and it was something he recognized. "That looks
beautiful."

Syd
spooned up a bit of the ice cream and cut a portion of cookie, making sure that
each element of the dish mingled on his spoon. "Try it." The spoon
hovered in front of Max's mouth, and he obediently opened up. The creamy
delicious morsel landed on his tongue, and his mouth exploded in flavor.

"That
is amazing." He picked up his own spoon. "So, this is something you
do a lot?"

"Eat?
At least three times a day."

The
teasing deserved a like response, so Max licked his spoon clean before scooping
up another bite. Syd groaned softly under his breath, but Max heard it and
ducked his head to hide a satisfied smile. "Eat like this. I had you
pegged as safe, structured…"

"Boring,
you mean." Syd sounded so disappointed, Max decided there was no harm in
letting the man know how he felt.

"Sexy,"
he whispered across the single flickering candle. "With those glasses and
suave suits, I couldn't help wondering what was underneath. Every time you
loosened your tie in my section, I wanted to whoop and holler and scream 'take
it all off"."

"You're
not disappointed? That I'm more than a human calculator?"

Even
in the dim light, he could see Syd's flush of pleasure, but he felt the intensity of his gaze. Syd
wanted him, and Max was ready to take what he could get.

"Disappointed?
That beneath the ultra-intelligent, hot geek exterior beats the heart of a wild
man? An adventurous spirit? A man who makes a meal a sensual experience?"

"That's
leading up to no, isn't it?"

"No,
I'm not disappointed. Yes, your wild side meets with my approval." He
leaned in close enough to feel the heat of the candle on his chin, to hear the
catch of Syd's breath. "Yes, your gamble paid off. Yes, you're getting
lucky. How do we pay the bill at this joint, and please tell me you don't have roommates?"

Syd
pushed back his chair and held out a hand to help Max from the seat. Pleased by
the courteous gesture, which seemed to contradict the strange atmosphere, Max
allowed himself to be towed to his feet. "The bill is paid in advance.
That's how he does things. Underground dining is different than anything we
know about how restaurant business is supposed to work. It's an experience, an
adventure, as you said, all its own."

Max's
phone vibrated against his thigh and he stifled a curse. Freeing his hand, he
shot Syd an apologetic glance. "Sorry, I have to take this." He
turned to the side slightly, but was conscious every second of Syd's presence
at his side, his stomach leapt pleasantly, his skin heated as though touched.
He was so going to enjoy everything this strange evening offered.

"Max?"

"What's
up, Kyle? I left your dinner in the microwave and your homework checked out
okay." A raucous noise erupted across the line. "Kyle? Where are
you?" Their neighborhood was noisy, but that sounded more like a rave or a
concert.

"You
know how I told you Bentley and Fracker were having a party?"

Everything
went still. Syd's hand landed on his shoulder and Max jerked away
instinctively. "The party we agreed you wouldn't go to?" A slow
thread of anger and fear twined through him, squeezing out the desire and
happiness. Kyle was seventeen, an emancipated minor, but he was still Max's
brother and he couldn't help feeling responsible for him.

His
brother sighed heavily. "Yeah, that party. Well, when you said you were
going out and not to wait up, and they texted me at work, well, fuck. I told
them I'd just stop by on my way home. I never planned to stay longer than it
took to say happy graduation and—”

"You
got off work at eight; it's nine now." He glanced over at Syd, who stood
frowning, arms crossed. "Sorry," he mouthed softly.

"I
know. The thing is, I got here, and someone gave me a Coke, and well, Max, I
think there was something in it because I'm sweating, and I feel like I'm going
to puke and…I can't ride my bike home. Can you pick me up?"

"Of
course I can. Do you need to go to the emergency room? We might want to get
your stomach pumped."

"I
don't know. Just…we can decide later. But I want to get out of here."
Hearing his usually stoic brother near tears ripped Max's heart out.

"I'm
on my way. Frack's place, right?"

"Yeah.
Thanks, bro."

Max
hung up his phone and turned back to face Syd, who was positively glowering.
Wow. Max stepped back automatically. In his experience, expressions like that
were portents of danger. "I have to go." He smiled tentatively at
Syd, whose frown deepened.

"Why?
I thought we were…"

"Yes,
it's just that Kyle needs me right now, and he's always going to be my little
brother, even though he's more grown up than our parents will ever be."
And that was way too much oversharing for a first date. From the look on Syd's
face, it might be their only date. The man sure was upset by the early
conclusion to their night. "I'm sorry."

Syd
stood still for a minute, then seemed to consciously force a smile. "It's
fine. Your brother, huh? I'm an only child myself."

They
exited the gas station turned restaurant and Max found himself hovering in the
sultry evening air. He needed to go, to get Kyle and see for himself if his
brother needed a doctor or could sleep it off, but he was reluctant to let this
time with Syd end, especially when it looked like circumstances might have
ended any chance for another evening like it. "It's just me and Kyle. Our
parents, they're…um, not good for us. I moved out as soon as I could when I
turned eighteen, and that left Kyle alone with them at thirteen."

"Uh
huh." Syd was glancing around the parking lot. "Where's your car? I'm
over at the bank, under the streetlight. I take it Kyle wasn't able to stay at
home if he's emancipated?"

"I’m
here, next to the rusted gas pump. And yeah, when he turned sixteen, he
couldn't take it anymore. He got a social worker to help him, and …we're
roommates, which is why if we'd…well, why we'd have gone to your place."
The tension between them was easing, and Syd's arm felt great wrapped around
his waist as he guided Max to his beat up old Volkswagen Bug.

At
the car, he turned to face Syd. "I'm sorry to have to leave like this. I
was really enjoying your company and looking forward to seeing your
place."

"You
could pick up your brother and then come over." Syd's green eyes sparkled
down at him, his lips slightly parted.

Max's
heart rate increased, his breath caught in his throat. The slow simmer of
awareness that he'd been enjoying all night sparked into a small flame of want.
"I…"

Syd
bent and covered his mouth with firm, demanding lips and whatever he'd been
about to say disappeared. Max's lips parted of their own volition, and Syd took
immediate advantage, slanting his lips and darting a questing tongue inside.
Eagerly, Max sucked the tongue, rubbed it with his own.

Twisting,
he wound his fingers into the short strand of hair at Syd's nape and leaned
into the taller man. They traded breath, stoked the embers of lust into an
inferno with nibbles and licks and that damned tongue that dominated his mouth
like Syd owned him. At last, breathing heavily, Max forced himself away with a
whimper. "Damn." He touched his mouth, lips damp and swollen. He
could taste Syd…and he wanted more.

Syd
smiled challengingly at him. "You can come over after you drop your
brother off."

"Kyle?"
Oh shit. "No. I have to pick him up. He needs me." He shook off Syd's
arm around his waist and opened his car door.

Syd
pouted. "I'm going to let you run off, but only if you promise me that I
can have another chance to impress you."

Sighing,
Max slid into his car and rolled down the window. "You don't need to
impress me, but if that means you're willing to go out with me again, then the
answer is yes."

The
brilliant smile Syd flashed him as he shut the car door vanquished the demons
of doubt that had crept in over the past few minutes. It was okay for Syd to be
disappointed, hell Max was disappointed. "I'll see you at lunch tomorrow,
okay? We'll sort it out then."

Find out more of Max and Syd's story next weekend!

Don't want to wait?

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Be Yourself

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955